Keeping Count
Chapter forty-three
Frustration mingled with adrenaline in Lucianna’s veins.
She grunted as her sword came into contact with a spiked baton one of the pirates was wielding.
His strength won out, and she jumped back to avoid being pummeled.
He raised the weapon high with a roar, foolishly leaving himself exposed.
With quickness, she stabbed her long sword forward and pierced his protruding belly, then yanked it out and dodged the final swing of his baton.
“Four,” she muttered.
The crowd around her had dispersed some with her ridiculous husband having joined in. He was light on his feet and wielded a blade with skill she’d admire if he were anyone but him.
“You know, you would make a fine member of our crew,” Finnick said over the din of the battle.
Lucianna spun on her heel and saw him fighting with a female pirate. Except the woman was smiling. He was using his Gift! Lucianna let out a growl and leapt over a body to get to them. She approached from behind and pulled out Finnick’s dagger.
“Really?” the woman asked, breathless.
“No,” Lucianna answered on behalf of her husband, and ended her with one smooth cut across her throat. The woman toppled to the deck.
Finnick wiped blood from his cheek and smiled.
His chest heaved with exertion as he asked, “Now who’s stealing kills?”
Lucianna sucked in a breath and wiped sweat off her forehead.
Across the ship, the others were finishing off what was left of the pirates.
Petals swung his axe into the back of one trying to climb up the side of the ship, while Castien artfully disarmed his opponent, then backed them against a wall.
Wren stood not far behind him, clutching her dagger as she looked on.
The captain pulled his sword out of a fallen pirate a few paces away.
Lucianna glanced up to find Kelwin holding his bow aloft, studying the enemy ship that bobbed in the waves, seemingly vacant.
She could hear her pulse in her ears, but it began to settle as she determined that they had won, and their crew was alive. The knowledge sank into her bones and rejuvenated her enough to address her husband.
“You’ve been using your Gift,” she accused.
“Naturally,” Finnick drolled. “When one is in a fight, one must use every advantage they have, don’t you agree?”
She gripped the pommel of his dagger. His gaze bounced around the ship from person to person.
“Flirting is not a battle tactic.”
“Cas?” Finn called out, not replying to her.
The prince turned from the assailant he had just bested and raised a hand in assurance. Finnick relaxed ever so slightly, just enough for Lucianna to realize how on edge he must have been in spite of his teasing.
Then, he gave a little shake of his head and exclaimed, “You thought that was flirting?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it. Understanding dawned on Finnick’s expression, then his eyes took on a dangerous glint. He smirked and stepped closer to Lucianna.
“Little thief, were you, by chance, jealous?” he asked, his tone low and silken.
Lucianna scoffed. “Of her? She couldn’t even sense an enemy approaching.”
Finnick chuckled.
“Of what I said to her,” he clarified unnecessarily. “If the conversation you overheard had been with a man, would you have felt so strongly?”
Lucianna’s mouth suddenly felt too dry. She swallowed.
“I am not jealous. I am frustrated that you stole my kill and then used your Gift to try to beat me.”
“I used my Gift to beat them, Lucianna,” Finnick argued. “We might have had a bargain, but I was focused on killing our enemy. If what helps us survive is using my Gift, then so be it.”
She clenched her jaw. He was correct, but that didn’t erase the tendrils of heated anger snaking through her.
“Is everyone well?” Castien called out.
Lucianna surveyed the ship again, trying to calm her racing heart.
Bodies were strewn all about the deck. Enough to showcase how outnumbered they had been.
Kelwin jumped down from the shroud and landed in a small patch of deck between two dead pirates.
A few of his metal arrows were sticking out of men and women lying about.
Petals took off his glasses and wiped the sweat off his face, then replaced them.
A few feet away, the captain was inspecting the clothing of one of the fallen men.
Castien and Wren stood together, holding dripping blades in one hand and each other with the free one.
“All good here,” Finn shouted in reply, in spite of the interaction they had already exchanged. As if he felt reassurance was needed.
“I will go tell Cora it’s safe now,” Petals said, then began picking his way across the deck.
“When you’re done, I will need assistance cleaning,” Kaiden said as Petals passed.
The brute nodded. “Yes, Captain.”
“Catch your breath,” the captain said as he stood up. “Then start tossing them overboard. The longer we wait, the more they’ll stink.”
Lucianna wrinkled her nose at the thought. She heaved a sigh and wiped her blades on her dirty trousers. Once they were clean enough, she sheathed the dagger, then leaned her long sword against the hull of the ship.
“Were either of you hurt?” Wren asked as she approached. “I have a medical kit in our cabin if you need it.”
Lucianna shook her head.
“No, I’m fine, but thank you.”
“Finn?” Wren asked.
Lucianna glanced over to her husband, noting the blood smeared on his cheek and side of his shirt. He lifted a dead pirate up and started to drag him toward the port side of the boat.
“Not a scratch,” he grunted, but softened his tone with a wink.
“And you, Princess Wren?” Lucianna inquired, earning a smile from the woman.
“I’m quite all right. The truth is, Castien shielded me for much of the fight. I did assist him at times, though, which was unpleasant yet thrilling.”
Lucianna huffed in amusement.
“I take it you do not enjoy battle?”
The princess shook her head.
“I learned to fight out of necessity,” Wren said.
Lucianna recalled Finnick’s story about their time at the academy and wondered if that was when Wren picked up a blade for the first time or if she had to learn before that.
“Don’t let her fool you.” Finnick’s breathing was labored as he returned to Lucianna’s side. “She might have learned unwillingly, but she spars with Cas more than I do.”
Wren smiled, and Lucianna got the feeling that sparring with Castien was less about the activity and more about being close to him.
“Sparring is much different than dueling to the death. That I can say I very much do not enjoy.” She frowned down at the blood surrounding her boots.
Castien called for Wren from across the ship. She glanced over her shoulder.
“Looks like I’m needed elsewhere. Let me know if you end up needing anything. Cora made a salve that she says is good for bruises, so even if they didn’t draw blood, there is help to be had.”
Lucianna dipped her chin in gratitude. Finnick was back to dragging bodies, so he did not respond.
Once Wren was gone, though, and he had disposed of the body he was carrying, he returned to his natural state of being a bother.
“So, what was your count?”
“You tell me yours first. I don’t know if you’ll cheat and say yours was higher.”
“I could say the same about you,” he pointed out.
She crossed her arms.
“Fine, we will say our numbers at the same time.”
He mirrored her stance.
“Fine, after three.”
“One,” he began.
“Two.”
“Three.”
“Five,” Lucianna said at the same time Finnick spoke, “Four.”
A grin spread across her face. She had won! Finnick shook his head at her obvious excitement.
“Congratulations, little thief.” He tipped his hat to her. “Now, what is your question?”
She considered her options. In truth, she hadn’t given it much thought.
While she was usually confident in her abilities, her husband seemed adept at thwarting her.
She hadn’t kept a question in mind, merely teased him about it being a surprise.
And the questions she wanted to ask would reveal too much of her inner thoughts to make them worthwhile.
“I do not have one,” she spoke truthfully. “I would, however, accept being crowned the best swordswoman in all the Seven Havens.”
Finnick let out a warm chuckle. He removed his hat and ran a hand through his tousled blond curls. Then he reached out and gently set it on her head, tipping it back so it didn’t fall into her eyes, which were staring up into his. Her anger had dissipated in the face of her win and his good humor.
“I pronounce thee, Lady Lucianna, slayer of a thousand pirates—”
She laughed at his inflation of the number.
He tsked. “Don’t interrupt!” She laughed again, but he kept going through it. “Lady Lucianna, slayer of a thousand pirates, and finest swordswoman the Seven Havens and Heartless Tides have ever seen.”
He dipped into a gallant bow to finish off his theatrics.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re positively ridiculous?” she asked him.
“Oh, once or twice.”